Empowering Drivers: The Role of Training and Technology in School Bus Safety

When a school bus is on the road, nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of its passengers. While there are numerous ways a bus can be designed to improve safety, your drivers cannot be overlooked! New technologies are making it easier for drivers to maintain safety on the road and improving training programs as well.

BusBoss has long been at the forefront of bus technology, with numerous products and services intended to make your bus transportation system easier and safer. Let’s look at how modern tech is helping to make better drivers!

Exciting New Technologies Helping Bus Drivers

1. Virtual Reality Training

After being teased for decades, virtual reality (VR) is finally at a place where it can be useful in the workplace, particularly for training. A VR headset paired with a professional-grade simulation can fully replicate every aspect of bus driving and management, without ever having to put rubber to the road. Other training simulators use large high-resolution monitors within a mock cockpit, with similar results.

School districts such as Grand Erie have been having genuine success training drivers in this way. And perhaps best of all, it’s fun for the drivers. They get to learn hands-on without the stress of operating the bus in the real world until they’re truly ready.

2. In-Bus Camera Feeds

One of the biggest challenges for bus drivers is attempting to manage a bus full of children while also paying proper attention to the road. It’s dangerous for drivers to be constantly turning around to look at the passengers. Fortunately, low-cost cameras and monitors can eliminate that risk.

It’s becoming common for districts to retrofit one or more interior bus cameras, linked to a screen that is directly in the driver’s eye line. This allows them to easily monitor their students, without taking their eyes off the road to do it. This can dramatically improve safety performance and reduce risks of accidents or behavior problems.

Along the same lines, external cameras linked to driver screens can eliminate blind spots. They’re a great way to enhance and complement existing mirrors.

3. Student Tracking using RFID, NFC or Bar Codes

With dozens of students getting on and off a bus during its route, keeping track of who’s onboard – and who should be onboard – is a challenge. One popular solution to this is the use of encoded student ID cards. RFID and NFC are a type of low-power short-range transmitter with a scanner that verifies passengers as they get on and off the bus.

This can be tied to a card reader using software warnings that let a driver know if anything is amiss. Drivers are alerted if they’re missing a student, if a student is on board or getting off where they shouldn’t be, or if a passenger missed a stop. This will significantly reduce “lost” children situations.

4. Tablet Information Systems

A tablet within the driver’s view is one of the best new tools. The tablet displays routing information on a big, easy-to-read screen, while also providing other vital data. The tablets help drivers track ridership by connecting to the card reading system, so they know for certain who’s onboard at any given moment. When paired with communication features, such as easily being able to connect with dispatch with a couple of taps, tablets become a bus driver’s new best friend.

5. Parent Bus Tracking Mobile Apps

Districts using vehicle tracking devices such as tablets are able to provide parents a mobile app that will display the location of their child's bus.  It can also provide an estimated time of arrival so the child does not have to unknowingly wait for a bus that is not arriving anytime soon.  

BusBoss Builds Better Bus Systems

Our business is built on making your bus system better! Whether you want better transportation routing, improved bus or student tracking, or even want to implement parent portal apps, BusBoss is your partner in modernizing your bus system.

What technologies do you think are most important for improving bus safety? Let us know in the comments!